Tom Herman hopes to use Texas Bowl as momentum-builder...

1of 2Texas coach Tom Herman hopes to use today's Texas Bowl as a springboard for his program to next season and beyond.Photo: Tom Reel, Staff

2of 2Texas coach Tom Herman admits a victory in today's bowl matchup with Missouri would prove most beneficial. Aside from giving the Longhorns their first winning year since 2013, a win would give the program much-needed momentum.Photo: Charlie Neibergall, STF

Tom Herman might still be the savior Texas needs. UT's success on the recruiting trail indicated the program still holds sway over a generation of kids too young to remember Vince Young's Rose Bowl heroics. But it's clear this top-to-bottom overhaul will require time and patience, two things fans of the team are understandably short on.

Coaches and players disdain chatter of moral victories, but this year has been short on actual wins. It's impossible to examine Herman's first season without acknowledging all the "almosts."

UT (6-6) fell to fourth-ranked Southern Cal, 10th-ranked Oklahoma State, 12th-ranked Oklahoma and Texas Tech by a combined 15 points. It will enter Wednesday's Texas Bowl against Missouri (7-5) at NRG Stadium a .500 team that could have been so much more.

But a final triumph over the Tigers, listed as two-point favorites, can make the Longhorns something they have not been since 2013: a winning team.

"Haven't been to a bowl game in three years, so if that doesn't excite you as a player than you probably need to quit football and do something else," Herman said. "I think winning this game will be important for us in terms of momentum. It's not life or death, but we sure as heck can use this to springboard us into the offseason for 2018."

The odds aren't in UT's favor. A mélange of injuries, suspensions and draft declarations has pockmarked the team's depth chart. The return of Elijah Rodriguez, who will start at left tackle, and P.J. Locke, who will replace DeShon Elliott at safety, helps, but the team is a far cry from full strength.

"We don't blink," Herman said. "The guys that are still here and still playing are tough dudes. Just another day at the office, so to speak.

"But it's real. I feel for Tim Beck and our offensive staff. You're really limited in terms of what you can do from a personnel standpoint and the plays you can call. Then God forbid a guy gets hurt, then it's like OK now we go to Plan B here real quick. But our team has responded at every turn and I'm proud of them for that."

Missouri's six-game winning streak wasn't forged through the SEC's fiercest flames, but coach Barry Odom's team at least owns the type of momentum UT failed to establish this season. Junior Drew Lock, who led the nation with 43 touchdown passes, is probably the best quarterback no one is talking about, and the defense ranked among the top 25 nationally in sacks (2.58) and tackles for loss per game (7.7).

"There's going to be some adversity in this game," Herman said. "How we respond to it will be a big key to judge our development."

A seventh loss would be a sour pill to swallow, even with the nation's No. 3 recruiting class poised to arrive in 2018. No one wants another "almost."

"Three straight losing seasons takes its toll on kids," Herman said. "It really does. It's difficult for them, especially when dealt with adversity it can be a 'here we go again' syndrome. That has been an ongoing challenge, re-establishing the right way to handle adversity and the right way to compete and the right way to go about our daily business.

"But for the most part I've learned also that these guys are hungry for that. They want to be great and they want to compete. But it's been a challenge to reprogram all these guys."